Guatemala debuts with victory

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, August 6, 2016. - Guatemala made their debut at the AFECAVOL Women’s U-23 Central American Championship with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-16) victory over El Salvador in front of a large number of spectators at Gimnasio 7 de Diciembre Alfonso Gordillo.

The home team had some difficulties in the first set while missing eight set points before finishing 28-26 on top, facing an opponent with good control in defense. Guatemala spiked more comfortably and went on winning the following sets.

Guatemala held advantage in spikes 35-23, in blocks 7-5 and in serves 7-4. Both score don 29 unforced errors. 

Estefanie Bethancourt led Guatemala’s offense scoring 15 points, 12 on kills and 3 aces, while Gabriela Funes topped El Salvador with 12 points, 11 on kills and one ace.

On Sunday, El Salvador (0-1) faces Honduras (1-0) at 5:00pm and Guatemala (1-0) will play against Belize (0-1) at 7:00pm.

“El Salvador put up a good fight in the first set and I consider that playing at home had some pressure on us. We are happy to be playing in Guatemala and little by little we performed with better rhythm. Tomorrow against Belize we will face tough blockers, we will set a strategy to be more consistent while attacking and paying attention in our defense” said Guatemala’s captain Estefanie Bethancourt.

Laura Villalobos of El Salvador said “we really wanted to win and we were fiercer in the first set. We lost control as the match advanced and our attacking was less aggressive”.

Cuban William Fernandez coach of Guatemala indicated “it was an uncertain beginning because two of our players haven’t been playing with the group, they’ve only practiced for two months and the whole team was nervous. El Salvador’s defense was very good and my players had trouble reading where to attack, mostly in the first set. We were steadier as the match advanced”.

Coach Dany Calderon of El Salvador expressed “my team needs more practice playing with the pressure from fans and referees. The players lost energy with the referee’s decisions and they must dominate their emotions better. This is a young team that needs to calm down”.